Food insecurity is the an-other hidden global threat

“The overall risk of food insecurity in many countries of strategic importance to the United States will increase during the next 10 years because of production, transport, and market disruptions,” assessed the US Intelligence Community (IC) which defines Food Security (FS) as “perceived and physical access to food supplies sufficient to meet basic needs and preferences at every level.”

For the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FS consists of “ensuring that all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food.” The UN World Food Program (WFP), which recently mentioned significant progress in the last decade, shares a same viewpoint as for several countries of which FS is at growing risk. Food insecurity is probably fueling further instability in countries like Syria, Yemen or Haiti where overall insecurity, declining food availability, declining purchasing power aggravated by prices spikes, and massive population displacements are adding to a FS context which was already difficult.

The IC also cites climate change, extreme weather and environmental degradation as potential threats to food availability and thinks better government policies can help address them. Summing up, not only food insecurity feeds instability and vice-versa, but it is also a basic weapon of fearful effectiveness in the hands of whoever seeks war and/or domination.